SOLUTION: PG Design Study Guideline | My Assignment Tutor

University of Westminster, School of Life Sciences, PG Design Study Guidelines 2020-21University of Westminster, School of Life Sciences7BIOM032w2 PG Project7BIOM016w2 PG Extended ProjectDesign Study: Guidelines 2020-20211. FormatThe Design Study should be a maximum of 2000 words in its main text body; this excludesfigure legends, tables, references, acknowledgements and appendices.The page setup must be A4 paper, regular (‘normal’) margins all around, throughout theentire document.All text (main body, appendices, etc.) and tables must be 1.5-spaced in 12 point Arial font.Each figure or table must be presented in a separate page, though figures can containmultiple panels.Table and figure legends must appear on the same page as the table or figure; byconvention, table legends are placed above the tables and figure legends are placed belowthe figures.Pages must be numbered consecutively throughout the document, with the exception of thetitle page (Page 1). The title page must give the following information: the full name of theauthor, the author’s workplace, the full title of the Design Study, the month and year ofsubmission and the following statement: ‘This Design Study is submitted in partial fulfilmentof the requirement of module XXX, MSc XXX’ where ‘XXX’ stands for your module code andMSc degree title. Do not leave XXX in your statement in the submitted manuscript!Page 2 should feature a contents list with page numbers.The next page after contents should feature Acknowledgements of help received.Throughout the text, all sources of information must be cited, using the Westminster Harvardreferencing system. A guide to Bibliographical References in Projects and Theses isavailable from https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students/studies/study-skills-andtraining/research-skills/referencing-your-workInternet sources: Information from the Internet must be cited as such and full details of theURL and date of access given in the reference list. Please note that this applies to digitalonly resources. Print journals accessed online should be cited without URLs and DOIs.If photocopies or scans of diagrams etc. from published work are included in the text, theymust be labelled as such and the publisher or author’s permission should be obtained.All binomial names of organisms should be italicised. The full Linnaean name must be givenon the first occasion on which the organism is named in each section. Subsequently thegeneric name may be abbreviated, e.g. Asellus aquaticus then A.aquaticus.All genes should be italicised e.g. blood group ABO genes, however, if you are referring tothe protein made by the genes, this does not need to be in italics (The ABO protein…).University of Westminster, School of Life Sciences, PG Design Study Guidelines 2020-21Abbreviations used should be those in normal use, and the full word(s) followed by theabbreviation should be given in the first occasion. It is mandatory to provide a key toabbreviations used on a separate page.2. Structure2.1. IntroductionThis should consist of a brief statement introducing the importance of the research area,before identifying the aims of the project and an outline of the strategy and methods, whichwill be used to attempt to achieve them. An explicit statement of the hypothesis that you aretrying to prove as well as the key objectives in your work must be included. You are advisedto limit this section to 1 or 2 paragraphs in length.2.2. Research planThis is a strategy document NOT an in-depth description of the methods or a step-by-steplist of protocols to be used. This section will present evidence of a planned sequence ofinvestigation as a flow chart, including alternative pathways when subsequent parts of thework depend on initial experimentation or on case problems arise. Such plans are importantwhether you are attempting to complete a laboratory-based study or a non-laboratory basedstudy. In both cases, you should highlight that you have carefully considered planning foryour research, understanding when a ‘check’ of progress may be beneficial. The flow chart isa summary document, not an exhaustive list of steps and should be self-explanatory fromspecimen/sample collection through to data analysis. The proposed methodology shouldonly be outlined here but a step-by-step description of techniques is not required.IMPORTANT: Impact of Covid-19 on ResearchFor laboratory-based projects, postgraduate students must submit evidence that they haveconsidered an alternative strategy or mitigation for the completion of their research shouldthere be continued coronavirus-related disruption in Semester 3. The plan must bediscussed with their supervisor and agreed. The evidence will take the form of a detailedbranch of the flow chart and a 250-300 word paragraph of explanation within the ‘researchplan’.2.3. Research / Experimental approachThis section should support the research plan, explaining the methods used to collect data,the selection and acquisition of samples and the methods of analysis in more detail. It shouldstate which replicates and controls would be used, how materials will be stored and howdata will be recorded. Where such skills are not relevant to your work, the techniques usedto ensure quality in your methods should be explained. A proposed time scale forexperimental work must be given, preferably in the form of a GANTT chart. When writing thissection, ask yourself: am I clearly explaining how I propose to prove my chosen hypothesis?Would someone else be able to understand my method choices? And to replicate mymethodology?2.4. Data analysisProposed methods of data analysis, including statistical methods and appropriate computerpackages must be presented. Bear in mind the importance of planning your analyses. TheUniversity of Westminster, School of Life Sciences, PG Design Study Guidelines 2020-21data you collect must be used (for ethical reasons) therefore you must plan how you will usethe information. Similarly, you should be able to show awareness of what you need to knowto answer your research question. This section is often overlooked by students! It should notbe, since the type of analysis employed will often help determine the planning of yourexperimental approach. If your research does not lend itself to statistical analysis e.g. itinvolves only two samples or the nature of the work is such that statistics are unnecessaryyou need to state that.2.5. Health and SafetyAn outline of the anticipated safety hazards that may be encountered during the practicalwork should be included here. This should include completed COSSH forms as appropriate:https://sites.google.com/a/my.westminster.ac.uk/uow-fst-heath-safety-andwellbeing/home/laboratory-safety/risk-assessment-formsIf applicable, COSHH forms from the workplace should be used. Use or generation of anygenetically modified organisms (GMO) must be detailed herein; if a new GMO applicationmust be carried out, this must be included in the appendix of the design study document.2.6 EthicsWhatever your project (!) you must complete an online Ethics application from through theVirtual Research Environment (VRE):https://research.westminster.ac.uk/PLEASE NOTE: IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A RESEARCHER TO ENSURE THATAPPROPRIATE ETHICAL APPROVAL HAS BEEN SOUGHT AND OBTAINED PRIOR TOINITIATING ANY RELEVANT WORK. YOUR SUPERVISOR IS THE PRIMARY POINT OFCONTACT AND RESPONSIBLE FOR OVERALL GUIDANCE ON THESE MATTERS.https://www.westminster.ac.uk/sites/default/public-files/general-documents/code-ofresearch-good-practice-2020-21.pdf2.7 Human Tissue ActIf your research involves the acquisition, storage or use of relevant material (as defined bythe Human Tissue Act 2004), then you must include relevant training and competencyregistration in your planning. Further information is available on the Working with HumanTissue BlackBoard site:https://learning.westminster.ac.uk/ultra/organizations/_85218_1/cl/outline3. AssessmentThe design study will be assessed by your project supervisor. The criteria, which will beused in the assessment, are:• Hypothesis, Aims & Objectives are clearly stated• Structured correctly as guidelines• Clarity of the presentationUniversity of Westminster, School of Life Sciences, PG Design Study Guidelines 2020-21• Depth/thoroughness of experimental planning, including coronavirus mitigations• Proposed analysis of results (appropriate statistics etc.)• Forward-thinking/problem identification• Feasibility of proposal• Explicit & persuasive justification for MSc level project• Safety issues considered (COSHH) and GMO form included (if appropriate).• Ethics issues considered (Ethics application submitted through the VRE, with Part Aas a minimum requirement)• HTA training, registration and practice considered4. Submission of the Design Study.The Design Study must be submitted as a single document in PDF format preferably, usingTurnitin. Although MS Word or Open Office documents are accepted, submission of these isnot recommended as the file formats are subject to repagination on 3rd party computers;what this means is that any attention to formatting and layout detail you have given might beliterally destroyed by the local computer opening and processing your file. It might mean thatfigures, pictures and tables might also be lost. The PDF format prevents any such changesfrom being made irrespective of where the file is opened. Only one submission is necessaryand appropriate and all supporting documents must be in this single file.Any signed documentation must be scanned and appended at the end of the document inyour Turnitin submission. This appendix should be clearly labelled and indexed for referencepurposes. Thus, if for example two documents are scanned, the ethics approval form andthe health and safety form, on the first page of the appendix list the two items as follows:APPENDIX X (where X is the appendix number): Signed documentation Item 1: Ethicsapproval form pages XX-XX Item 2: Health and safety form pages XX-XX If your desktoppublishing software is Microsoft Word, please scan any signed pages and paste them at theend of your word document as images. Be sensible with file size vs. image clarity – 300 DPIscans in greyscale are typically sufficient. Some scanning applications are also capable ofappending pages onto PDF documents. Thus, if you intend to submit your course work as aPDF file, you can scan in any signed paperwork.FOR DETAILS ABOUT THE RULES & REGULATIONS OF ASSESSMENT PLEASE SEETHE UNIVERSITY’S ACADEMIC REGULATIONS https://www.westminster.ac.uk/currentstudents/studies/exams-and-coursework